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Hockey

Sailors take series lead

Niagara's Cesare Caldaroni tries to protect the puck from Matt Scanlin of Port Dover during Game 3 of the PJHL Bloomfield Division quarter-final Sunday. Scanlin had two assists for the Sailors, who won 10-5 to take a 2-1 series lead. (JACOB ROBINSON/Simcoe Reformer)

Game 4 is Tuesday in Niagara at the Gale Centre, with Game 5 back at Port Dover Arena on Thursday. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m.

At the conclusion of the regular season, Port Dover came out of the Bloomfield Division as the No. 3 seed with a record of 23-17-1-1, while Niagara was sixth at 12-23-3-4.

Both teams have comparable offences, as Port Dover scored 152 regular-season goals compared to 158 for Niagara. At the other end of the ice though, the Sailors hold the advantage as they allowed just 167 to the 210 allowed by the Riverhawks.

Port Dover also won the season series between the two clubs, 4-2, but it was Niagara who had momentum going into the playoffs following a 3-1 victory on Jan. 28 in the final meeting between the two teams before the playoffs.

Once the post-season got underway, Port Dover exerted its might in a 5-1 Game 1 win but Niagara came back with a 3-1 victory in Game 2. The Sailors were able to jump ahead 2-1 when they doubled the Riverhawks 10-5 at home on Sunday.

In the opener, Niagara scored the first goal of the game before Port Dover found the back of the net five straight times.

Eric Mueller had a big game, scoring once and adding a pair of assists. Michael Boateng (2A), Steve Goeree (2G) and Austin Lamb (2A) also got more than one point while Eric O'Keefe notched the final goal.

Following the 3-1 loss, when Conner McQuhae scored, the Sailors took leads of 6-2 after one period and 10-4 after two on their way to the Game 3 win.